Technology in Israel: I spent a week in Israel meeting with leaders in tech. The result is a thoughtful view of a tiny country that few ever get to see.

If you’re wondering why I haven’t blogged in the last week or so, it’s because I was traveling (with a very tight schedule). Last week I had the pleasure and privilege of taking part in a delegation trip to Israel to meet with the country’s leaders in technology (startups, entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, investors, incubators and more). The invitation was extended by the Israeli Consulate of NY and Israel’s Foreign Trade Ministry. The attendees, in addition to myself, were a handful of fellow U.S. bloggers. The trip’s objective was to immerse the delegation into technology in Israel, a tech and startup scene that’s been dubbed the ‘Startup Nation,’ which is also the title of a best-selling book on the very subject.

In just 8 days, I met with over 100 Israeli startups, entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, investors, incubators and government officials. The result was a clear insight into a tech startup world that few people ever get to see. Not only that, it was a nice market pulse; where tech is right now and where it’s headed.

Let’s start with some background (from Startup Nation). Israel is a country of 7 million. It’s only 60 years old. Surrounded by enemies and in a constant state of war since its founding, the country has no natural resources. It’s only export: people. Since its establishment, Israel has produced more start-up companies than large, peaceful, and stable nations like Japan, China, India, Korea, Canada, and the UK. On a per person basis, the country has attracted over two times the venture capital investment as the US and thirty times more than Europe. Israel has more companies on the tech-oriented NASDAQ stock exchange than any country outside the US – more than all of Europe and India combined. How is this possible?

Technology in Israel, my observation:

• Israel’s mandatory military service makes for a society that is prepared to communicate, create teams, and improvise. Men and women as young as 18 are often at the helm of military operations that have the lives of hundreds of fellow-soldiers depending on them. These youngsters are trained to operate tanks or other military craft worth in excess of $1 million. That’s a lot of responsibility at a very young age. There’s no college experience that can discipline a young person in a similar way. When they emerge from military service, Israeli’s are equipped with incredible leadership skills and an unsurpassed ability to operate in high stakes environments, under intense pressure. During service, many Israeli’s are engaged with engineering or scientific operations. Couple military service, a technology and scientific knowledge base and an adversity-driven culture, and you get a society that’s apt to put chutzpah over finesse. No exhaustive prep here. It’s a recipe for entrepreneurship.

What’s the downside?

• While I’m all for avoiding exhaustive prep, some Israeli companies aren’t doing prep at all. Many don’t thoroughly know their market, their customer, or their competitors (i.e. is another startup working on something similar, compatible, or that will make their product obsolete?). I found that some Israeli tech companies don’t see past their nose, so to speak. There’s this overriding assumption that if a technology solves a problem, a tech conglomerate (i.e. Google, Facebook, Microsoft) will acquire it and the entrepreneur can cash out, quick. But this isn’t always so. There’s a lot to be said for market research.
• While all the startups I met with do indeed solve real world problems, in my honest opinion, some of those problems are inconsequential. Of the 100 meetings I had, only a handful of the technologies were truly game-changing. But I’ll leave that assessment up to you.

The following is my trip itinerary with a short blurb on each company I met with (what they do and/or what problem their technology solves). Future posts will provide an expose on my favorite emerging technologies and how they can practically improve your lifestyle (link-ins to follow).

EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES

• TedCas – advanced natural touchless interfaces for healthcare. TedCas’s technology allows doctors and nurses to access digital information in the distance and in a completely aseptic way, using only air gestures. (http://tedcas.com)
• eyeSight – Touch Free solutions that enable the use of intuitive hand gestures to control a wide array of consumer electronics and digital devices, including mobile phones, tv’s, pc’s and medical devices. (http://eyesight-tech.com)
• BNC Systems – automotive-technology, developing, manufacturing and selling innovative hardware & software platforms for the automotive industry. (http://bnc-s.com)
• Comigo – a smart TV platform. A comprehensive multi-screen solution presenting exciting interactive and ground-breaking personal and social networking capabilities. (http://comigo.com)

GADGETS

• SmarType Keyboard – a keyboard with a small LCD screen on it that helps you see what you’re typing, when you’re typing it, right next to your fingers. (www.keyviewtech.com)

APPS & WEB PLATFORMS

• Tonara – a ‘kindle-like’ app that allows you to download and view sheet music on your iPad. Its clever algorithm listens as you play live music, showing you where you are on the screen, and even turning the pages for you automatically. (http://tonara.com)
• Commerce Sciences  – The Personal Bar is installed via a short piece of code added to your eCommerce site, which creates a floating footer that increases sales and engagements by creating a personalized experience for each of your shoppers based on their own unique shopping behavior. (http://commercesciences.com)
• GroupShot – an app that lets you combine your favorite components of a group shot into one. Take the perfect group photo without the worry of one person in the group messing it up. (http://groupshot.com)
• Weesh – a social networking app for couples. We wrote about it back in August 2012 (read more).
• Huduyou – an online companion for finding local service providers recommended by your friends. Don’t go to Yelp or SuperPages, visit Huduyou and see who your friends recommend. (http://huduyou.com)
• If I Die – Facebook app that that enables people to leave a message that will only be published after they die. What happens to a Facebook profile when someone dies? (http://ifidie.net)
• WISHI – an app that lets you share your real clothes with the world. Wear it, share it! (http://wishi.me)
• Ringya – snap a photo of your paper lists or email digital lists to the app.  Ringya transforms those lists into smart, organized groups or “rings” on your smartphone. (http://ringya.com)
• Traity – an app that scientifically measures your personality traits based on contributions from your Facebook contacts, so you can learn your own strengths and weaknesses. (http://traity.com)
• Cross Reader – a browser plugin that presents complementary and related stories, relevant to the page you are reading (featuring related stories, social updates and more). (http://crossreader.com)
• Summer – a browser plugin that appears on the right of your browser and gives you information about people you find interesting around the web. Simply click on their name, on the inline text. (http://summerhq.com)
• NewVem – analytics tool that provides timely actionable insights that are critical for any business in the cloud. Analyzes AWS cloud behavior and reveals insights related to costs, assets, and risks, and recommends solutions to manage a cloud more efficiently and effectively. (http://newvem.com)
• Wix – website creator tool that let users create customized beautiful website for free. Freemium-based model; Wix provides a free URL. For a premium, users can connect to their own domain, or remove Wix branding. (http://wix.com)
• Pluralis – optimize your website’s landing pages through crowdsourcing. Web designers and optimizers submit their work and you select and pay for only the best submission. (http://pluralis.com)
• Sty.It – integrated into Facebook, you can get your own personal stylist with this app. (http://styl.it)
• House of Einstein – your personal shopper. Select your tastes, receive clothes via shipment, keep what you like, and return what you don’t. (http://houseofeinstein.com)
• TireCheck Download this app and check your tire pressure with your smartphone by simply photographing your tires! Electro-optic method for monitoring tire pressure. (http://neo-matix.com)
• Tomigo – a social recruiting solution that leverages your employees’ social connections to find top talent for your company. (http://tomigo.com)
• 6Scan – secures your websites against hackers attempting to destroy or deface it, and prevents them from stealing your data. (http://6scan.com)
• Xeneta – offers insight into a global sea freight market when it comes to price, actual transit times and the environment. (http://xeneta.com)
• AnyClip – a tagging technology that extracts and indexes metadata of full-length feature films. The AnyClip database adds up to 5,000 tags to each movie, so you can search the database for an exact moment in a film that you’re looking for. (http://anyclip.com)
• Wibbitz – a text to video platform that analyzes text and matches it with the best visual representation for the text, adds voice-over narration and turns it into an engaging video. Turn almost any article, post or feed on the web into a short video clip, instantly. (http://wibbitz.com)
• Hoozin – a social network and mobile ‘hangout’ that allows you and your friends to interact without losing the special vibe and dynamics that you have in real life. (http://hoozin.me)
• Magisto – an app that automatically turns plain videos into beautifully edited and produced movies, perfect for sharing. (http://www.magisto.com)
• Familio – a social networking app for families to connect and share thoughts, photos and more. (http://familio.com)
• MyPermissions – protects your personal information by automatically scanning your app’s permissions. Alerts you when apps access private information. (https://mypermissions.com)
• StillShot – app that lets you create a full resolution photo from a video file by analyzing the frames one by one, letting the user to choose the best frame. Great when objects are on the move and it is hard to catch the moment or when a video was already taken instead of a still photo. (http://stillshot.me)
• iOnRoad – a personal assistant app for diving. Run the app and mount your smartphone to your dashboard, it will alert you when you’re too close to another car or there are other hazards in your path. Also incudes GPS navigation functionality. (http://ionroad.com)
• Fooducate – app that barcode scans groceries and returns a health grade, so you can choose the healthiest foods while you shop and before you eat. (http://fooducate.com)
• eVolero – platform for creating an interactive website for an event you are organizing. Manage the site’s layout, branding, information and registration. A web-based eco-system for your conference to make the most out of it before, during and after the event day. (http://evolero.com)
• Spoteam – aggregates video content from various search engines and enables users to rank them actively and passively using a smart algorithm. (http://spoteam.com)
• Mallzee – create your own personal online shopping mall by picking your favorite stores from the 200+ already signed up. Mallzee then finds products suited to your tastes from them all, lets you interact with friends as you shop, so they can help you find your best look. (http://mallzee.com)
• Roomer – a secondary marketplace for non-refundable hotel reservations. If you have a reservation and you can’t make it, don’t pay the cancellation fee, sell your reservation and make some (if not all) of your money back. (http://roomerit.com)

VENTURE CAPITALISTS, INCUBATORS, ACCELERATORS & ANGEL INVESTORS

• JVP (Jerusalem Venture Partners) – a leading Israeli venture capital firm dedicated to building world class media technology companies. Established in 1993, JVP now has over $900 million under management. (http://jvpvc.com)
• JVP Media Labs – an affiliate of JVP, is JVP’s early stage investment arm providing startups a suite of customized services, including seed financing, hands-on management, office space and strategic guidance. (http://jvpstudio.com)
• Jon Medved – one of Israel’s leading venture capitalists. In 2008, The New York Times named him one of 10 most influential Americans in Israel.
• Bob Rosenschein – the founder, CEO and chairman of Answers.com prior to its acquisition. Bob is a venture capitalist and serial entrepreneur, named Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year in 2009.
• AlmaLinks – a private program that brings together young professionals and senior business executives to connect personally and learn from each other professionally. (http://almalinks.org)
• Boot Camp Ventures – a strategic corporate advisory firm for emerging technology companies, offering pre-filtering, selection and preparation of companies throughout all stages of the capital raising and business development process – a discipline uniformly appreciated by entrepreneurs, investors and partners. (http://bootcampventures.com)
• IDC Elevator – invests in initial seed funding of startup companies, providing office space and startup capital in exchange for a small equity stake in each startup. Startups receive mentorship in addition to services from a wide array of partners, including lawyers, bookkeepers, accountants, designers and more. (http://idcelevator.com)
• Lool Ventures – incubator for emerging startups in the technology space. (http://lool.vc)

CONFERENCES

• DLD Conference – (Digital – Life – Design) is a global conference network on innovation, digital media, science and culture. Connecting innovators, tastemakers, investors, and more. Chairmen of DLD are publisher Hubert Burda and serial digital investor Yossi Vardi. (http://dld-conference.com)

GOVERNMENT & EDUCATION – TECHNOLOGY RESEARCH

• Technion – Israel Institute of Technology, a world-renowned research university pursuing teaching and research in sciences, engineering, and technology. (http://technion.ac.il/en)
• Haifa Municipality – a municipality of an Israeli city, standing as a center of high tech industries in Israel and the globe. Home of MATAM, Israel’s Silicon Valley. (http://haifa.muni.il)
• hiCenter of Haifa – unique business accelerator focused on technology-based businesses. The hiCenter is backed by the Office of the Chief Scientist of Israel and provides entrepreneurs with a solid launching pad to ‘start-up’ their business. (http://hicenter.co.il)
• Kinrot Incubators – founded as part of the Israeli Incubator Program, Kinrot Incubators provides a solid platform for developing and commercializing water innovations / clean tech (http://www.kinrot.com)
• IAI (Israel Aerospace Industries) – a globally recognized leader in development and production of military and commercial aerospace and defense systems. IAI’s invests substantially in research and development, including investments in green tech products. (http://www.iai.co.il)

If you’d like to read more, there is a nice press release by IAI describing the overall objective of the delegation during our weeklong tour of technology in Israel. There’s also a sweet photo with me and an Israeli drone, a pilotless aircraft operated by remote control.

Editor’s Note: One more press release about my trip, by NewVem.

Fox Business News (foxbusiness.com) feature (@FoxBusiness)

SheBytes and Madison Technology were featured today on the homepage of Fox Business News in an article titled: Cloud à la Carte: 6 Ways to Order Off the Cloud.  In the article, I address the misconception that cloud computing is a one-size-fits-all service that’s more aptly suited to Fortune 500s with big IT budgets as compared to smaller shops with limited means. There are a smorgasbord of cloud options for businesses of any size and budget who want to capitalize on cloud services in their own unique way. Cloud doesn’t refer to one large umbrella service, it can be sliced up into smaller pieces to fit any business. 

December 20th, 2011 – Fox Business News

Featured on the Fox Business News Homepage at http://foxbusiness.com

The article lists the six most common cloud-based services that companies of any size can subscribe to.  When it comes to the ‘cool’ factor of cloud computing, cloud desktops are definitely where it’s at.  To read about the remaining top five most common cloud-based services, click here.   

Every small business, regardless of industry, can benefit from at least some of the many cloud service offerings now available. It’s important to do due diligence on any cloud provider before purchasing service – make sure the company has a strong track record, has U.S.-based servers, pricing is in line with average costs and is willing to provide detailed answers to any questions you have.

A ‘how to’ become a biker girl story. I bought a Kawasaki Ninja beginners bike; how the trials of dating led me to it, and why this motorcycle woman inspires authenticity.

A Sexy Foreign Encounter

Last November I began dating a positively delicious man; let’s call him ‘Don.’ To this day, I am unsure as to what it was that made Don so delicious: yes, he was hot, yes, he lived in a TriBeCa loft, yes, he had a high profile job, yes, he had a sexy foreign accent, and even a motorcycle to boot. Whatever it was about Don, the concoction was pretty spot-on. Being quite the charmer, when Don offered me a motorcycle ride around Manhattan during our second date, I –a woman that had never desired to mount a bike—excitedly said, “ok!”

Motorcycles had, up until that point, been pretty terrifying. But I guess oxytocin will make you do crazy things (more on that in another post), and so lo and behold, one Saturday in late November, I took a ride around Manhattan on the back of a Red Ducati. As it turned out, it was one of the most lyrical days of my life.

Mantox Leads to Epiphany

Don and I dated a few more weeks until realizing we wanted different things; we graciously went our separate ways just before the New Year and I decided to take a dating hiatus: a ‘mantox,’ if you will. Months passed, yet I still found myself longingly thinking back to that warm fall day in November. The more I thought about it, the more I realized what I longed for was not the foreign hottie –no. It wasn’t his cooking, his brilliant mathematical mind, or his TriBeCa pad. I didn’t long for him at all. What I longed for was the thrill I felt on that bike!

7 months later, I realized: I love motorcycles. Whoa! OK! But now what? I can’t exactly date men just because they have a bike –or can I? No!

While there are but a handful of women on motorcycles, it was clear: I needed to give this motorcycle thing a try.

Doing the Illogical

It was late June at this point and we were already 3 months into the riding season. I knew if I didn’t get on a bike within a few weeks, the season would end and I’d be left to daydream about motorcycles a full year until the next riding season. I made up my mind; I wanted to see what motorcycling was all about! So here’s what I did:

1. It was a Sunday night when I went online and found the Motorcycle Permit Learner’s Manual. I studied.
2. I went to the DMV bright and early Monday morning for my motorcycle permit. I took the 20 question test. As it turns out, in New York, you need to study both the Motorcycle Manual and the Driver’s Manual. It seems that I had forgotten everything in the Driver’s Manual over my 10 years of driving. I failed the exam. Oops! I regrouped, studied both manuals and went back for exam round 2. This time I passed!
3. To test the waters of biking, I registered for a private 2 hour motorcycle lesson. Within the first 30 minutes, I was in first gear! Yes, I dropped the loaner bike (a Susuki GZ 250 cruiser), but it was to be expected, I was learning! After the lesson, I was pretty sure this motorcycle business was an art I wanted to master.
4. I registered for Motorcycle Safety School, a 2-day course and all-in-one alternative to the DMV road-test. The class was probably one of the hardest things that I’ve ever endured (both physically and mentally). Did you know there are something like 2500 maneuvers needed to successfully operate a motorcycle? There are only about 200 with driving a car. And that was just the beginning. The 2 day course was from 7am – 5pm all day Saturday and all day Sunday. Better suited for April than July, the class had us spend most of the weekend outside, in 100 degree weather, roasting in full gear (riding gloves, helmet, long sleeve shirt, riding pants and riding boots!). I’d driven a manual car before, but I was by no means proficient. Couple learning how to shift a bike with balance, coordination, and 100+ degree heat –it was no joke!
5. At the end of the 2-day course, there was a Road Test. I passed!
6. Now that I had added an M to my D license, it was time to find a bike. I knew I wanted a sport bike, something with a small engine (250) and light weight to start (<400 lbs.). I also wanted a used bike, perhaps dropped a time or two, so I wouldn’t feel so bad if I beat it up a bit. I found a 2010 Kawasaki Ninja 250 with low mileage. 3 days after passing the Road Test, I bought my first bike (courtesy of Craigslist.org).
7. Next came Insurance. I reached out to my friends at the Small Business Authority for a quote (The SBA designed this site, by the way). Motorcycle insurance is surprisingly cheap (only $500 a year or so). The SBA returned quotes from a bunch of carriers, making the entire process a breeze. I had my insurance card that same day! I was ready to register the bike and pick up my plates from the NYSDMV the following morning.
8. It was time to ride! My cousins both have motorcycles and they helped me not only purchase the right bike, but also get some much needed practice on the NYC roads (learning for 2 days in an empty parking lot is WAY different than cruising the city streets). Within just a few days of practice, I had established a solid relationship with my bike (there’s loads of trust involved, especially for cornering). A few rides with family and friends and pretty soon, I felt comfortable riding on my own.

My Ninja is the best in the class of motorcycles for women and a great starter bike for many reasons:

1. It’s light weight at only 375 lbs.;
2. It’s used but has low mileage;
3. It’s a bright visible red color (great for safety);
4. It’s perky –the engine is small, but the bike is light enough to give it lots of quirk, so it’s great for learning technique. The perfect beginner motorcycle.

Everything was grand, but there was one thing missing: noise. When it comes to bikes, a silent motorcycle is a big no, no (especially in NYC). On a motorcycle, you’re generally invisible. Cars simply don’t see you. You are always in someone’s blind spot, and with the level of traffic in New York City, that’s an unavoidable fact. Ask any Harley Davidson rider, and they will tell you, the one thing that saves them time and time again is the level of noise a Harley bike produces.

Throughout this process, safety has been my foremost concern. That’s why I quickly realized I needed to replace my Ninja exhaust and make my Ninja super loud. This way, even if cars don’t see me in their mirrors, they’ll be sure to hear me (even from around the block). My new Carbon Fiber Two Brothers exhaust that I purchased and had installed by my new friend Sean at Prospect Cycles is awesome

Breaking Down Barriers

I’ve been riding for just about three months now. At first it was scary –I’m not going to lie. On a motorcycle, 15 mph feels more like 50; so needless to say, my first highway ride was a major rush! But with each passing day, I’ve found more joy and less fear in the endeavor (albeit, as it relates to motorcycles, a remnant of fear is a good thing).

Sure, I could have called Don for a ride (some pun intended), or found another man to take me on his bike. I could have become a motorcycle groupie or started dating only guys that own bikes. But all of those routes would have been cop-outs. And that’s really the point of this entire post: don’t look for a cop-out. Listen to what your inner self –what your soul– is asking for; then run and do it… quickly! True up!

Not many women motorcycle. In fact, women on motorcycles is generally an oxymoron. But if I can ride a motorcycle, then you can do, well, –anything. Break down your barriers! On the other side of your fears lives your greatest life.

PS: I’m a grown woman but if you’re wondering what my family had to say about all this, they were against it at first. They’d rather I get married and have children than gallivant around Manhattan on a motorcycle. But my folks relaxed when they saw my methodical approach to learning, all the safety precautions I was taking and how much I truly enjoy it. Ironically enough, the motorcycle is likely to get me wed sooner than not, since nearly all bikers are men and they tend to travel in packs. Amen to that.

If you liked my story, click here to connect with me on Facebook.

Imagine running Windows 7 on an iPad… sounds cool?  It’s real!  Cloud Desktops make it possible.  A Virtual Cloud Desktop is a personal, centralized computer located in the Cloud. Using any Internet connected device or thin client (i.e. an iPad), you can access your desktop from anywhere in the world.

What you see on your screen is a virtual image of the processing taking place off-site.  Since the processing is not local to your device, you can run complex applications that are otherwise unsupported by the device (ex: run Adobe Photoshop right off your iPad!).

I carry my iPad in my purse everywhere I go.  My iPhone 4 on Verizon acts as my tether.  With my Desktop in the Cloud, I can work from anywhere with a Verizon signal.  Sounds amazing?  It is!  Cloud Desktops have revolutionized my life!

Many people gripe that the iPad’s virtual keyboard is uncomfortable, so the idea of using it as a full-time computer doesn’t sound realistic.  Logitech and ZAGG had an answer in mind when they teamed up to create this thin, eye-catching keyboard case that I wrote about a few weeks ago.

[Show as slideshow]

This super thin case is really light weight, adding only about ¼” to the iPad 2.  Pair this keyboard case with a Cloud Desktop and you have a robust workstation (weighing only 3lbs) in your bag at all times!

What are the Benefits of Cloud Desktops?
•Hardware: Can run on any internet-connected device and requires only a thin-client (ex: access your desktop from an iPad).  Preferred to having the OS running local to the machine (which requires an expensive/robust workstation with unnecessary surplus of processing power).
•Software: Software runs in the cloud; the end-user need not worry about the purchase of per workstation licensing (ex: Windows, Office, Adobe, etc.)
•Elasticity: Ability to increase/decrease processing power infinitely, as needed (as opposed to increasing via purchase of additional memory; limited)
•Reduced Management Costs: Cloud Desktops make technical support virtually obsolete (whereas physical desktops require management and, in the event of failure, they may need to be rebuilt)
•OS Compatibility: Cloud Desktops make your Operating System (OS) completely agnostic of the hardware you are running it on, enabling you to run any OS on any internet connected device (ex: run Windows on a Mac and  visa versa).
•Remote Access: Because your Cloud Desktop can be accessed from anywhere in the world –you have ultimate flexibility in your workspace.

I’ve created a clear and concise video demonstration / tutorial of how to use an iPad and iPhone 4 (as a tether) to carry your desktop with you everywhere you go.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G9-vMqCyho4

Bulky, expensive and robust physical desktops are rapidly becoming obsolete.  Thanks to Virtualization technology, Cloud Desktop Providers NYC are lowering overall technology costs, enhancing efficiency, boosting productivity and changing the way we compute.  This Cloud Desktop was provided by Madison Technology.  If you would like to learn more about Cloud Computing, click here.